Mmi203's Compo Item Analysis
The myriad of compo items available to SR players can be overwhelming — it took me hours of calculation to come up with the builds I currently use. And so, in the interests of beginning players everywhere, I have taken the liberty of divulging my secrets. Mind you, this is no stupid opinion-based walk-through like other articles in this category — this is no less than a deliberate translation of qualitative descriptions into those of quantity. In other words, every single relevant compo item will be compared through damage/time (d/t). There will be no "Well, this is better, but only if you have a DEX gunner with a Purple Crystal. On a Tuesday." By the time this project of mine is complete, the compo items listed below will be listed in accordance with their significance and the struggle that players new and old alike must undergo will no longer exist. So prepare yourself, my student, for a lack of subjectivity and a boatload of cold, hard fact. Before we progress, though, there are a couple of things you must understand. The first and perhaps most important is that d/t is not a perfect measure of a compo item's worth. For instance, this idea does not hold under the outrange strategy, simply because the focus is on avoiding damage as opposed to wiping out your enemies. Second, the effects of compo items that increase damage by a predefined number versus those whose effects depend on your d/t become negligible as this value increases. This can be seen in the dramatic lowering of a Red Crystal's usefulness as you obtain better weapons: a Sword does a mere (3/25)50 = 6 d/s, but a Red Crystal would allow it to deal ((3 + 8)/25)50) = 22 d/s — the original value gets multiplied by 3.7! A Sabel, on the other hand, does (30/25)50 = 60 d/s and ((30 + 8)/25)50 = 76 d/s with the Crystal — the original value gets multiplied by a mere 1.3. And so, compo items that increase AT or decrease AGI by a constant can and will be discounted. Stones White Stone: Does not increase d/t. Red Stone: Increases damage by a constant. Green Stone: Increases damage or decreases AGI by a constant. Blue Stone: Increases damage by a constant. Black Stone: Increases damage and/or decreases AGI by a constant. Crystals Black Crystal: Does not increase d/t. Silver Crystal: Does not increase d/t. Red Crystal: Increases damage by a constant. Yellow Crystal: Increases AT by 50%, so d/t becomes AT(1.4)/AGI. Net effect: d/t(1.5) Purple Crystal: Does not increase d/t. Jewels Emerald: Increases damage by a constant. Ruby: Increases damage by a constant. Sapphire: Increases damage by a constant. Topaz: Increases damage by a constant. Peridot: Increases damage by a constant. Garnet: Increases damage by a constant. Aquamarine: Does not increase d/t. Diamond: Does not increase d/t. Cards Quick's Card: Decreases AGI by 30%, so d/t becomes AT/(AGI(7/10)). Net effect: d/t(10/7) Long Sword's Card: Does not increase d/t. Catapult's Card: Does not increase d/t. Pierce's Card: Does not increase d/t. Guide's Card: Does not increase d/t. Bullet's Card: Increases #bullets by 75%, so d/t will be affected based on default #bullets: Default #bullets: net effect 2: d/t(1.5) N.B. The LV2 card would be better with its 100% increase or net effect of d/t(2). 3, 6, 7, 9, or 15: d/t(1.7) 4, 8, or 12: d/t(1.8) 5: d/t(1.6) Explosion's Card: Does not increase d/t. Critical's Card: Increases AT by 200% 25% of the time = 50%, so d/t becomes AT(1.5)/AGI. Net effect: d/t(1.5) Berserk Card: Increases AT by 150%, so d/t becomes AT(2.5)/AGI. Net effect: d/t(2.5) Vampire's Card: Does not increase d/t. ONIGIRI's Card: Does not increase d/t. Gold rush Card: Does not increase d/t. Medals Bronze Medal: Does not increase d/t. Silver Medal: Does not increase d/t. Gold Medal: Does not increase d/t. Iron Medal: Does not increase d/t. Analysis For simplicity's sake, I've re-listed the useful compo items by order of net effect below: Berserk Card (2.5) Bullet's Card (~1.75) Critical's Card or Yellow Crystal (1.5) Quick's Card (~1.43) Category:Stick Ranger guides